Photo Credit: Anukool

In patients with type 1 diabetes (T1D), diabetic retinopathy (DR) appears to be an independent predictor of both existing and new cardiovascular disease (CVD), with a higher risk associated with more advanced DR, according to a study published in Acta Ophthalmologica. For the study, Jakob Grauslund, MD, PhD, and colleagues matched more than 16,000 adults with T1D in the Danish Registry of Diabetic Retinopathy by age and sex with five individuals without diabetes. They estimated ORs and HRs for incident and future CVD in multivariable models. Adults with T1D had a higher likelihood of pre-existing CVD (OR, 1.29) and higher risk for developing CVD within 5 years (HR, 1.19), compared with controls. However, those without DR were less prone to developing CVD (HR, 0.84) compared with controls. Among adults with T1D, risk for incident CVD increased with higher levels of DR (HR, 1.33, 1.95, 1.71, and 2.39 for DR levels 1–4, respectively). Patients with CVD at the initial screening had a heightened risk for developing DR during follow-up (HR, 1.23).